Digital Commons Network^™

American Deaf Students In Ennl Classes: A Case Study, Janice Elisabeth Ruhl

Dissertations and Theses

Many deaf students who seek post secondary education need some sort of developmental education in reading and writing to ensure success in college. These students often end up in college preparatory or remedial classes that are designed for native speakers of English. For many of the deaf students entering college, English is a second language or a first language that they have failed to achieve fluency in.

This study describes the experience of two deaf students enrolled in English as a Non-Native Language classes for the first time at an Oregon community college. The Office of Students with Disabilities and …

Use Of Language Learning Strategies By Proficient And Less Proficient Learners, Charlene Frances Mills

Dissertations and Theses

Recent research has found that the use of good language learning strategies can affect students' chances of gaining proficiency in a second language. The purpose of this study was to see if there is a relationship between strategy use and language learning proficiency. It sought to answer these questions: (1) Does a successful learner use different strategies on specific tasks than does a less successful learner? and (2) Will the successful learner use more metacognitive and affective strategies while doing tasks than will a less successful learner? For the first part of the study, 17 students in an ESL program …

Making The Transition From East To West: Evangelical Christian High School Students From The Former Soviet Union, Sharon Kay Link

Dissertations and Theses

This study documents the educational and cultural experiences of Soviet Evangelical high school students, the most recent refugee population to the Portland-Vancouver school districts.

Soviet Evangelical high school students have experienced a slow and difficult transition to the American classroom. The students were often negatively characterized by their ESL teachers and other school personnel as "difficult" due to their classroom behaviors. Many times, these behaviors did not meet the ESL teacher's expectations, resulting in a culture clash between the teacher and the Soviet Evangelical students.

The study found that Soviet Evangelical high school students came to the United States with …

English-Speaking Three-Year-Olds In A Spanish Language Immersion Program, Alice Golstein

Dissertations and Theses

Foreign language immersion programs, wherein the regular school curriculum is taught through the foreign language, have become increasingly widespread in recent years. Although there have been a plethora of studies reporting on second language immersion programs involving school-age programs, there is a dearth of information describing such programs for preschoolers. The purpose of this study was to observe and describe an immersion program for three-year-olds, particularly with respect to specific features of early stages of the language acquisition process.

The primary area of interest was to determine the existence of and features of a silent period for these children. Secondary …

Student Attitudes Toward Word Processing And Writing In The English As A Second Or Other Language Classroom, Greg Lynn Buchan

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the attitudes of English as a second or other language (ESOL) students who used computers/word processors to develop skills in writing English. Two primary questions were investigated: what are students' attitudes toward using computers to write English and what are students' attitudes toward learning computer and word processing skills? The subjects were 40 ESOL students enrolled at South Seattle Community College (SSCC) in technical programs and were required to complete a transitional English class that included business and technical writing . Students received 10 weeks of writing instruction on word processors. A 38-item attitude inventory created by …

1995 Commencement Program, Thomas Erlich

Commencement Archives 1990-99

The program for the Portland State University Spring Commencement ceremony on June 10, 1995.

Thomas Ehrlich, LL.B., delivered the commencement address; Monroe M Sweetland, B.A. and John Eliot Allen, Ph.D., received Presidential Citations from PSU President Judith Ramaley.

Dance Of Dreams, Michael Creger

Dissertations and Theses

It seems that the world does not exist in the way that we perceive it. Among the reasons for this are both the inaccuracy of the information gathered by our senses, and the cultural and linguistic structures through which we interpret this sensory information. This thesis and this group of sculptures, exhibited in the Autzen Gallery April 17 - May 10, 1995, are an attempt to address these issues and to point in a direction which may lead to greater understanding of the world and our place within it. Using primarily welded steel, and building from a foundation based on …

Teaching English Grapheme-Phoneme Correspondences To Chinese Students, Li-Ching Lin

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigates whether or not instruction of English graphophonic correspondences, i.e., the link between letters and sounds, will help Chinese students in learning English vocabulary. Following other related research, I assume that Chinese students can benefit from instruction of English grapheme-phoneme correspondences in learning English words. If this assumption is true, there should be a statistically significant difference between students who have instruction of English graphophonic correspondences for learning English words and students who do not. 1. Chinese students who have been given lessons in both pronunciation and grapheme-phoneme correspondences will recall more English words on a short-term vocabulary …

Do All Trails Lead To Oregon? An Analysis Of The Characteristics Of People Moving To And From Oregon 1985 - 1990, Howard Wineberg

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Using 1990 U.S. Census data, this report has documented the characteristics of people moving to and from Oregon between 1985 and 1990. Substantial migration occurred during this time with about 404,000 people moving to Oregon and about 281,000 people leaving Oregon. Approximately one half of the people moving to Oregon came from California and Washington and about 60% of the people leaving Oregon moved to these two states. Differentials were found in the characteristics of in- and out-migrants. In particular, in-migrants were more likely to be below poverty, 65 years of age and older, and have difficulty speaking English than …

Functional Uses Of Language In The Conversational Discourse Of A Person With Alzheimer's Disease, Julie Anne Haun

Dissertations and Theses

Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, is estimated to occur in up to sixteen percent of people between the ages of 75 and 84. Deficits in linguistic skills that effect communication are a hallmark of the disease and have been the primary focus of past Alzheimer's research. Among other deficits, researchers have found that people with Alzheimer's often use indexical expressions without clear referents and convey less information that is relevant to the task they have been asked to perform than healthy subjects. Relatively little research has examined how Alzheimer's subjects use their linguistic knowledge to communicate with …

English In The Workplace: Case Study Of A Pilot Program, Kim Roth Franklin

Dissertations and Theses

This study is participant observational research focused on a description of an United States Department of Education grant-funded English in the Workplace pilot program. The survey of the literature shows that there is an increasing need to provide educational opportunities for workers who, for various reasons, are not currently being served by traditional education providers. The study presented here describes a pilot program and asks "How is an English in the Workplace program developed and implemented? What do those characteristics of workplace education programs, as identified in the literature, 'look like' once such a program has been implemented?" The researcher …

The Effect Of A Physician's Pronunciation On Nurses' Perceptions Of The Physician's Medical Competency, Laura Anne Horani

Dissertations and Theses

Although many researchers have studied language attitudes in the last three decades, none of the studies have been conducted in the hospital setting, where there are more serious consequences for those working with patients being labeled linguistically "incompetent," as charges of incompetence in language are apt to lead to charges of incompetence in other areas of mastery as well (e.g., Ryan, 1983). This study examines the attitudes of a sample of nurses from three Portland-area hospitals towards nonnative English speaking physicians. The subjects, 156 medical-surgical nurses, listened to three anonymous audiotaped physicians who were from three different ethnic backgrounds: American, …

An Examination Of The English Vocabulary Knowledge Of Adult English-For-Academic-Purposes Students: Correlation With English Second-Language Proficiency And The Validity Of Yes/No Vocabulary Tests, Robert Scott Fetter

Dissertations and Theses

The importance given to vocabulary in second language instruction and in theories of second language acquisition has increased greatly in the last fifteen years. It is thus important for second language teachers/researchers to have valid, useful methods of assessing the vocabulary needs and vocabulary knowledge of their students as well as valid and useful methods of assessing the efficacy of various methods and techniques of teaching and learning vocabulary.

This study examines the usefulness and validity of a relatively new type of checklist vocabulary test method known as the 'YES/NO' method. In the YES/NO method, nonsense words are listed together …

Insoluble Ambiguity: Criticism And The Structure Of The Frame Narrative In The Turn Of The Screw By Henry James, Cecilia Rosenow

Dissertations and Theses

Since its publication in 1898, The Turn of the Screw has been the focus of diverse critical interpretation. It has reflected shifts in critical theory that include the Freudian, psychoanalytic, mythological, structuralist, reader-response, linguistic, and new-historical schools.

The majority of critical interpretations have focused on the governess's narrative and have excluded the prologue, or frame narrative, that begins the novella. The critics who did examine the prologue overlooked James's departure from the traditional use of frame narration and the importance of the structure of the frame in creating a text of insoluble ambiguity.

James departed from traditional frame narration in …

An Exploration Of The Value Of Future Tesol Teachers Reflecting On Their Pasts As Language Learners, Sarah Elizabeth Lawrence

Dissertations and Theses

Virtually all future teachers of ESL/EFL have been foreign- or second-language learners themselves. However, reflection on their own past language-learning experiences is usually not integrated into the coursework of professional TESOL preparation programs and there has been little published research in TESOL in which students in professional TESOL preparation programs reflect on their past language learning experiences. The purpose of this research was to explore the effects on TESOL Methods students of revisiting a past language-learning experience.

The subjects were students in a TESOL Methods class. This study examined an assignment given to these students to write a short "language …

Viking 1995, Portland State University

The Viking (Yearbooks)

Portland State University 1995 yearbook

Language Typology And Reconstruction: The Prenasalized Stops Of Kisi, George Tucker Childs

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The findings of language typologists can contribute to understanding synchronic variation where no diachronic facts are available. By establishing what happens universally, one can extrapolate as to the past and perhaps as to the future of a language on the basis of synchronic evidence. One approach within such a framework concentrates on a typologically unusual or marked feature on the assumption that its derivation may be established from less highly marked features. This paper discusses the typologically unusual prenasalized stops of Kisi, a Mel language belonging to the Southern Branch of (West) Atlantic. The approach adopted here is based on …

Redefining Maroon Heritage In The New World Studies, E. Kofi Agorsah

Black Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Evidence from recent archaeological studies appear to suggest a redefinition of the heritage of runaway slave communities, referred to by the name Maroons and other terms. Now properly defined as the pioneer freedom fighters, it is also becoming clear that their heritage is a single constant strand in that of the New World. Contrary to previous views and descriptions which appear to indicate that these communities derived only from African slave escapees, historical and archaeological evidence from the Caribbean, and the Americas now reveal that the heritage of Maroon communities stemmed from the united force forged by between native American …

Spiritual Health: Association For The Advancement Of Health Education Instructors' Attitudes, Practices And Training, Susanne Meyer Christopher

Dissertations and Theses

Health education uses a holistic, multi-dimensional perspective (Hoyman, 1961; Donatelle, 1991; Hales, 1992). In recent years an emergent issue in health education is concern for disproportionate representation among the human dimensions--emotional, social, physical, intellectual, spiritual. Discussion occurs over the apparent underrepresentation of spiritual health in health education materials (Chandler & Kolander, 1990). While the professional literature contains articles discussing the under-representation of spiritual health (Jose & Taylor, 1986; Bensley, 1991), no empirical studies are available to assess the current status of spiritual health in health education materials or the spiritual health attitudes of health educators. This study provides empirical data …

An Improved English Article System For Japanese Speakers, Dorothy Jean Frew

Dissertations and Theses

One aspect of the English language which has been overlooked by English-as-a-Second-Language educators is the article system, a, the, and 0. For students from articleless first languages such as Japanese, learning this complex system is a formidable challenge. Performance studies show an error rate among advanced Japanese students of approximately thirty percent. There may be several reasons for this high rate: 1) the differences between Japanese and English, 2) the unusually high degree of complexity/difficulty of the article system itself compared to other English morpheme systems and 3) inadequate treatments of the subject as revealed in this …

Language Learning Strategies Of Russian-Speaking Adult Esl Learners, Minerva E. Renee Kalenandi

Dissertations and Theses

In the ESL classroom, there are often cultural differences between learners and teachers. Sometimes these differences can lead to misunderstandings or even conflict. One area where differences between cultures can be seen is language learning strategies and styles. This study explores the possibility that awareness of differences, explicit teaching, and negotiation may help to resolve differences.

This study looks at differences between Russian-speaking adult ESL learners and American ESL teachers, with respect to strategy use and preferences. Three aspects are investigated. The first is to see whether there are statistically significant differences between these groups of learners and teachers. The …

The Relationship Between Intelligibility And Length And Complexity Of Language In A Group Of 4- And 5-Year-Old Children, Susan Fodell

Dissertations and Theses

Previous research has indicated that speech and linguistic variables develop concurrently. When one aspect of speech and linguistic development is delayed, there are typically associated delays in another area as well. This interactive relationship has been studied extensively in the context of phonological and syntactical development, as well as fluency and syntactical development. The relationship between intelligibility and linguistic proficiency has not been studied as extensively. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between varying levels of intelligibility and length and complexity of language in preschool-aged children. Mean length of utterance was correlated with the mean percentage …

Spectrographic Analysis Of Second Language Speech: Investigating The Effects Of L1, Troy D. Bailey

Dissertations and Theses

Technological advances in Digital Signal Processing over the last decade have provided applied linguists with a number of computerized applications for speech analysis which can be of benefit to both the researcher and the instructor. This research project explores the techniques of speech spectrography and implements methods of acoustic phonetics to current issues in Second Language Acquisition theory. Specifically, the effects of vowel production in one's native language on the targets in a second language are investigated. Acoustic measurements of English vowels spoken by Japanese students were compared with measurements of native Japanese vowels and American English vowels. In addition, …

An Examination Of The Occurrences Of Metaphor In Introductory Engineering Textbooks, Hartwell S. Francis

Dissertations and Theses

The aim of this study is to identify the use of metaphor in university-level introductory engineering textbooks. Engineering is an important field of study for foreign students in the United States. In order to determine the linguistic and cultural problems foreign students of this field may have, two introductory engineering textbooks are examined for occurrences of metaphors.

Two corpora of 20,000 words each drawn from introductory textbooks used at two four-year, public universities are examined for occurrences of metaphor. A combined semantic and pragmatic test for metaphor is applied to each word used in the corpora to determine if the …

Peer Correction By Non-Native Speakers Of English In Oral Group Work, Bill Stevenson

Dissertations and Theses

This research is observational and descriptive. Its primary purpose is to provide data on the extent to which, and how, Non-Native Speakers (NNSs) of English engage in error correction of their peers when participating in classroom oral group work. In addition, it shows to what extent these learners self-correct their own errors in the same situation. The over-arching focus of the study is to examine the role of second language learners to determine whether they possess the potential to play a more active and productive part in their own language learning. Nine beginning level adult university ESL students are the …

Computer Grammar Checkers And Esl Writers, Robert Lee Gaynor

Dissertations and Theses

The use of word processors has become common in writing instruction for students of English as a second language (ESL). Recent developments in microcomputer technology have increased the number of "tools" or writing aids that are incorporated into word processing programs. Among these are computer style and grammar checkers, programs that attempt to identify and diagnose stylistic, grammatical, and mechanical problems in writing.

This study examines the suitability of commercial grammar checking programs for use by ESL writers through descriptive analysis of program features and evaluation of accuracy. The programs evaluated are Grammatik 5, Microsoft Word 6.0 and Correct Grammar …

Objects To The Rescue! Or Httpd: The Next Generation Operating System, Andrew P. Black, Jonathan Walpole

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This position paper suggests that object-oriented operating systems may provide the means to meet the ever-growing demands of applications. As an example of a successful OOOS, we cite the http daemon. To support the contention that httpd is in fact an operating system, we observe that it implements uniform naming, persistent objects and an invocation meta-protocol, specifies and implements some useful objects, and provides a framework for extensibility.We also believe that the modularity that is characteristic of OO systems should provide a performance benefit rather than a penalty. Our ongoing work in the Synthetix project at OGI is exploring the …

Case Study: How An East European Student Learns To Compose In English, Ruth Steinfeld Katon

Dissertations and Theses

Since the political climate in the former Soviet bloc has shifted, there is an influx of East Europeans to the United States. As these refugees enter the U.S. educational system in greater numbers, teachers must adapt to the special needs of this population. The intent of this study is to focus on the composing skills of a Polish student who enrolled in an English for Non-Native Residents (ENNR) program at an urban university. The investigation examines the contextual framework that supports the subject's literacy experiences by means of a longitudinal case study format Several ethnographic and experimental techniques are used …

"A Listening Child." The Language Life History Of An American Of Mexican Descent, Alexandra Guerra Alvarez

Dissertations and Theses

This case study presents the language life history of an American woman of Mexican descent. The informant describes the ways in which her two languages, English and Spanish, developed and have been used throughout her life. She narrates how living with two languages has affected her in each period of her life. The informant's language life history provides insight into the ways in which immigrants who come to the United States live and adapt to a new country, culture, and language. The informant's narrative is a testimony of a person divided between two languages and two cultures. The methods used …

Soviet Evangelical Students In Adult Esl Classes: A Case Study, Patricia Ann Wiggins

Dissertations and Theses

Soviet Evangelicals (a term inclusive of Pentecostals and other Christians of evangelical persuasion from former Soviet countries) are members of one of the most recent refugee-status groups to come to the United States. Being refugees, they are guaranteed, by the U.S. government, a degree of English language instruction. As a result, since 1989, adult ESL classes in the Pacific Northwest have had a large influx of Soviet Evangelical students. Because of the scant research as yet conducted on this student population, most ESL educators have had to rely on intuition and observations to interpret Soviet Evangelicals' needs, desires and behavior …